1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet feed apparatus and a recording apparatus having the sheet feed apparatus, and more particularly, to a sheet feed apparatus capable of performing manual sheet feeding and a recording apparatus having this sheet feed apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, a recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile apparatus or the like ordinarily has a sheet feed apparatus for feeding sheets stored in a sheet storing means by using a sheet feed means. The sheets fed by the sheet feed apparatus are transported to an image recording unit by a sheet transportation means, and images are to be recorded on the sheets in the image recording unit.
As such the sheet feed apparatus, there is provided a sheet feed apparatus capable of performing manual sheet feeding so as to record images not only on standard sheets stored in the sheet storing means but also on nonstandard sheets designated by a user.
However, in this conventional sheet feed apparatus capable of performing the manual sheet feeding and the recording apparatus having this sheet feed apparatus, a dedicated sheet feed roller for the manual sheet feeding has to be added, and a space for the manual sheet feeding has to be separately secured.
Thus, if the dedicated sheet feed roller is added and the space for the manual sheet feeding is secured, the structure becomes complex and the size of the apparatus becomes large as a whole, and costs increase because the number of parts increases.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feed apparatus capable of performing manual sheet feeding with simple structure at low costs, and a recording apparatus having such the sheet feed apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feed apparatus which comprises a sheet storing means for storing sheets; a sheet feed means, disposed in a state capable of closing to and leaving from the sheets stored in the sheet storing means, for feeding the sheets; a manual sheet feed unit disposed above the sheet storing means; and a guide member, disposed in the manual sheet feed unit, for guiding the manually fed sheets to the sheet feed means while underpropping those sheets, wherein the guide member is formed by a flexible member.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus which comprises a head mounting unit for mounting a recording head; a sheet storing means for storing sheets; a sheet feed means, disposed in a state capable of closing to and leaving from the sheets stored in the sheet storing means, for feeding the sheets; and a guide member, disposed above the sheet storing means, for guiding the manually fed sheets to the sheet feed means while underpropping those sheets, wherein the guide member is formed by a flexible member.